Ciro Gomes
Encyclopedia
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian lawyer and politician. He was a founding member of the then-center-left Brazilian Social Democracy Party
Brazilian Social Democracy Party
The Brazilian Social Democracy Party is a centrist political party in Brazil. Originally a centre-left party at the time of its foundation, PSDB moved to the centre after Fernando Henrique Cardoso forged an alliance with the right-wing Liberal...
(PSDB), but left the party in 1996. He later moved to the Socialist People's Party
Socialist People's Party (Brazil)
The Socialist People's Party is a political party in Brazil.It was founded in 1992, after the Brazilian Communist Party decided to rename itself the Socialist People's Party as part of a political realignment following the collapse of the Soviet Union.The PPS was a part of the coalition government...
(PPS) and ran as the PPS' presidential candidate in 1998 and 2002. In 1998 he came in third place and won 11% of the vote, and in 2002 he came in fourth place and won 12% of the vote. He supported Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , known popularly as Lula, served as the 35th President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.A founding member of the Workers' Party , he ran for President three times unsuccessfully, first in the 1989 election. Lula achieved victory in the 2002 election, and was inaugurated as...
in the second round of the latter election, and was ultimately chosen to be the Minister for National Integration in Lula's new government. When the PPS' leadership voted to leave the governing coalition in December 2004, Gomes chose to remain in his post. As a result, the PPS removed him from the party leadership, and he decided to join the Brazilian Socialist Party
Brazilian Socialist Party
The Brazilian Socialist Party , is a political party in Brazil. It was founded in 1947, before being abolished by the military regime in 1965 and re-organized in 1985 with the re-democratization of Brazil. It elected six Governors in 2010, becoming the second largest party in number of state...
(PSB). In 2006 he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of Deputies of Brazil
The Chamber of Deputies of Brazil is a federal legislative body and the lower house of the National Congress of Brazil. As of 2006, the chamber comprises 513 deputies, who are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year terms...
with the highest percentage ever achieved by a single candidate in a proportional election - 16.7%.
Ciro Gomes became governor of the Brazilian northeastern state of Ceará
Ceará
Ceará is one of the 27 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is currently the 8th largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the main touristic destinations in Brazil. The state capital is the city of...
in 1990, at the age of 32. The three and a half years he spent as governor coincided with important social reforms. He attracted much international investment, and Unicef praised him for cutting infant mortality by a third.
He also famously built a water canal 71 miles long in only 90 days to Fortaleza
Fortaleza
Fortaleza is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. With a population close to 2.5 million , Fortaleza is the 5th largest city in Brazil. It has an area of and one of the highest demographic densities in the country...
, the capital, to prevent a water supply crisis.
In 1994 he briefly served as finance minister at a crucial time when the Real Plan was underway as an economic stabilization program. His performance helped Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Fernando Henrique Cardoso – also known by his initials FHC – was the 34th President of the Federative Republic of Brazil for two terms from January 1, 1995 to December 31, 2002. He is an accomplished sociologist, professor and politician...
win the election, but he broke with the Cardoso government in 1997.
He is married to actress Patrícia Pillar
Patrícia Pillar
Patrícia Pillar is a Brazilian television and film actress.-Biography:Patrícia Gadelha Pillar was born in Brasília, Distrito Federal to Nuno Pillar and Lucy Gadelha...
.